Toney-Deal lawyer: Don't defame my client

Thursday

HAINES CITY - A lawyer representing former Haines City manager Ann Toney-Deal has threatened a lawsuit against the city in connection with its efforts to have some of her severance money returned.

HAINES CITY - A lawyer representing former Haines City manager Ann Toney-Deal has threatened a lawsuit against the city in connection with its efforts to have some of her severance money returned.

Lake Wales lawyer Robin Gibson sent a letter Monday to William Grob of Tampa, who was hired in November to represent the city in its dealings with Toney-Deal.

In it, Gibson said anyone making "false allegations about overpayment of vacation and sick leave" is defaming Toney-Deal and her exemplary service to the city.

"Anyone with the city, including its commissioners, attorneys or other city agents" making such defamatory comments will be in violation of ... the Supplement to Employment Agreement and will subject themselves to legal consequences, the letter states. "I trust I've made myself clear."

The City Commission wants Grob to negotiate partial or full repayment of what an investigation determined was a $44,214 overpayment of accrued vacation time to Toney-Deal.

"I've always had a difficult time figuring out why we're even talking about this," Gibson said in the letter. "Both parties agreed to the resolution of the matter in a written contract."

He cited a clause in the contract that said the city releases Toney-Deal from any and all claims the city may have against her in connection with her employment.

"If the city takes any action to go back on its word and breach this contract by filing a claim it now wished to assert ... you may treat this as a personal promise to counterclaim against the city for bringing 'an unsupported [frivolous] claim' under Florida law," the letter said.

Gibson said should that occur, they would seek sanctions that at the very least would serve to reimburse Toney-Deal for her lawyers' fees.

The City Commission will take up the matter at its Jan. 5 regular meeting.

Toney-Deal's vacation payment was part of a severance package totaling $312,000 the commission approved in April when she resigned.

The payment issue came to light during litigation that stopped a recall effort against commissioners Horace West and Joanna Wilkinson, who voted for the severance package.

Gibson maintained in a Dec. 12 letter that full documentation was produced, the city's calculation was correct and proper payment made.

Gibson's letter referenced Toney-Deal's severance agreement, stating she "would be paid all accrued sick and vacation time, which the city's finance and personnel offices calculated and the City Commission approved the amounts, and authorized payment," Gibson's letter said.

Grob responded to Gibson that no procedural safeguards can be effective "unless the city manager actually enforces the policy."

If negotiations don't work, the commission will have to decide whether to file a lawsuit to recover the money.

"And it isn't a slam dunk," Grob said at the commission's Dec. 15 meeting.

Mary Hurst can be reached at mary.hurst@newschief.com or 863-421-5577.

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